Hartley dropped as Red Bull reserve driver

Red Bull have stated that reserve driver Brendon Hartley has been dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team, and therefore will not be the reserve driver for Toro Rosso and Red Bull either. This leaves Australian Daniel Ricciardo as the only test driver for either of the two teams owned by Dieter Mateschitz.

Brendon Hartley, seen here testing for Red Bull, has been dropped from their Junior Team

Hartley is currently 6th in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and no reason has been supplied by Red Bull Racing as to his departure. However, it is believed that Red Bull made the decision to drop Hartley, rather than him leaving by himself.

I would have to say that I’m disappointed by this news, as I had tipped him for the Toro Rosso seat in 2012. This leaves the door wide open for Australian Daniel Ricciardo to replace either Buemi or Alguersuari in a few years’ time, and possibly Red Bull in the future.